Too Much Walking
by thatfantasyworldofmine
Summary: Part Six in "The Tyler Family" series. Rose takes the Doctor for a long walk around the shops for supplies... maybe too much walking.
1. Chapter 1

"Seriously Rose, it cannot be that hard to pick a cot," the Doctor groaned as his wife pulled him into yet another furniture store. Who knew there would be so many places within walking distance that sold cots?

"It's gotta be perfect though, Doctor," Rose told him patiently with a smile, squeezing his hand. "Casey at work told me everything to look for; when she was pregnant it took them ages to find the right one, but now it's been through all three of their kids! It's gotta have the bars on the sides but they've got to be able to come down so when he gets bigger then he can practice standin' and stuff, and plus you don't want a hugely expens-"

"Rose," the Doctor interrupted her spiel with an exasperated chuckle, and she turned to him, eyes wide and innocently questioning.

"Yeah?"

"First of all, take a breath!" She rolled her eyes at him and took an exaggerated deep breath. He grinned and nodded. "Better. Now, d'you think that maybe we're taking it a bit too far? This is the fourth shop today," the Doctor reminded her, and she looked around as if only just realising.

"Is it?" Her expression grew surprised. "Blimey, didn't even realise."

"Plus you liked that last one we looked at," the Doctor probed with a hopeful smile. "With the patterns down the sides?" Anything to avoid another hour wandering around another store, and he'd noticed her moving slower, more sluggishly than usual. Rose considered it.

"That's true...I thought it looked like Gallifreyan," she mused; that made him smile. "An' it was cheaper than most..." Rose bit her lip and rubbed her forehead, unable to think straight for some reason. The Doctor moved to face her and took her shoulders gently, bending slightly to her height.

"Rose, c'mon. That's enough for today, yeah? We can always come back, there's still another month and a half at least, right?" the Doctor said to her softly, and she looked him in the eyes, nodding.

"I s'pose you're right," she sighed. "As usual," she added teasingly, and he grinned cheekily at her. He tucked his arm around her shoulders and lead her back out of the store, onto the street. The pair made their way to the parking building - thank goodness they had parked on the ground floor - and Rose lowered herself into the car with her husband's help.

"I'll be really glad when I can get myself in an' out of the car again," she grumbled, and he chuckled, shutting the door. The ride home wasn't long, though the Doctor noticed Rose's eyes glazing over tiredly, staring out the window. He seized her hand with his free one, linking his fingers through hers. She turned to him and smiled, squeezing back and resting her head on the headrest, watching his face as he drove.

"No falling asleep in the car," he warned teasingly. _I'll never get you out if you're asleep_, he added on in his head, and out the corner of his eye, saw her poke her tongue at him, making him laugh. The Doctor pulled into the driveway of their two-bedroom house, parked, and went around to help Rose out of the car. He opened her door and she waved him off.

"No, I'm gonna do this," she told him, determination furrowing her brow. "You go grab the groceries or something; there's ice cream that'll be melting." He stepped back, hands raised with a small proud smile on his face. He did as she suggested, unlocking the boot and taking the first lot of groceries inside while Rose worked her way around in the seat so her legs dangled out the car door. He grabbed the last few bags and came around the end of the car just in time to see her get into a standing position, beaming widely.

"You were brilliant," he told her with a chuckle, kissing her cheek. However instead of replying, the grin faded from Rose's face, and it suddenly struck him how white her face was. She swayed and staggered forwards a few steps, eyes unfocused.

"Doctor," she tried to say, but her tongue felt swollen, and she wasn't sure what came out. The world spun, and her heart pounded; her head felt as if it was stuffed with cotton wool. She heard him yell her name as she felt her legs give out and she was pulled into blackness.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Rose - Rose!" As soon as she pitched forwards, without a second thought the Doctor discarded the groceries, catching his wife before she could hit the pavement. "Rose, I've got you, I've got you," he said, lowering her to the ground as gently as possible. Her head lolled, and her eyes were closed.

He went to grab for his phone then cursed; he'd left it inside when he came back out to get more groceries, and he dared not leave his wife alone and unconscious on their driveway to go and get it. He was relatively certain what had happened; getting up too suddenly after they'd been walking for hours, probably not drinking enough either... dizziness and subsequently passing out was the most common symptom of hypotension. Low blood pressure.

The Doctor refused to panic, but he was worried, especially while he at least knew how hypotension affected a normal human, he had no idea how it would affect an unborn baby. He lifted her legs, helping the blood flow back to her head. He couldn't believe how quickly her face had lost all colour; surely it hadn't been that pale in the car? He would've noticed, surely. He watched her, worried how this would affect Rose mentally; something like this was exactly the kind of complication Rose constantly worried about.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. What if it was the baby? Causing it? Technically he was still half Time Lord, making his child a quarter Time Lord. He and Rose had conferred with the medical team at Torchwood when they had found out they were expecting, but they had come to the conclusion that the risks of complications were relatively minimal. Hopefully.

His mind started to go through several scenarios but then was distracted when Rose moved. He put her legs back down and knelt by her head, keeping a hand on her shoulder in case she tried to sit up.

"Doctor..." she mumbled, eyelids fluttering as she came to. "...what happened?" She blinked a few times, then her eyes shot open and her hands immediately went to her stomach. "Doctor, is he...?"

"It's alright, Rose, you just passed out," he assured her, pressing a hand to her gradually colouring cheek. "You're fine; Jack's fine; just take it easy for a second," he warned, and helped her slowly sit up.

"Oh." Rose pressed her hand to her throbbing forehead, closing her eyes against the pain. The Doctor rubbed slow circles on her back, and she leaned heavily on him, her other hand clutched around her belly.

"D'you think you can stand?" the Doctor asked gently after a few minutes, and Rose hesitated, then nodded. He took her hand then circled his other arm around her back and under her other arm, helping her stand to her feet. The Doctor kept his hold on her as the pair slowly made their way inside; he completely ignored the groceries strewn across the driveway, and Rose was too busy trying to remain conscious enough to walk to notice.

The Doctor set Rose down on the couch, and she immediately leaned forward as much as her stomach would allow, closing her eyes.

"Water, please," she managed. God, she was dizzy. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid; going all day without drinking anything? At nearly seven months? She hadn't been that hungry at lunch either, eating only half her grilled cheese sandwich. What was _wrong_ with her? She felt a warm hand on her back and a cool glass being held to her hand. She used both hands to drink; they were trembling, but she managed. She finished the glass off easily, and the next one too. After her second glass, her headache lessened somewhat, and the dizziness faded. The Doctor came around and sat next to her, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Better?"

She nodded silently, gazing down and caressing her belly, her eyes burning with hot tears.

"Rose, c'mere." He pulled her into his arms; she was shaking, but with fear or something else he didn't know.

"Bloody hormones," came her muffled voice, thick with tears. "Makin' me into a wuss." She didn't hug him back, just let him hold her as she kept her arms around their baby.

"Rose Tyler, you are anything but a wuss," the Doctor told her seriously, tenderly stroking her shoulder. "You're pregnant, and you're becoming a mother. Sometimes it's scary. You're allowed to _cry_."

"It's not like that, it's like..." She struggled to explain, and sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I'm used to being scared. Traveling different dimensions, even missions with Torchwood; sometimes I got scared. But now I'm _frightened_. And I'm sorry." Her voice unconsciously lowered to almost a whisper by the last word, and he realised that she was ashamed of being afraid, even if it was for their baby. Rose glanced up at him with tearful eyes like a child who knew they'd done something wrong, and expected to be dealt out a punishment. That look of utter loss and defeat... It broke his heart.

"Rose..." he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand, for once not having any idea what to say. Her hand came over his and she held it there, pressing her face into his palm. He hadn't realised that she'd been keeping all this from him; how truly afraid she actually was. In his eyes, that made her even stronger than he'd ever imagined. "Rose, love... Here's what we're gonna do," he said to her, and she looked at him questioningly. "First of all, I'm making dinner tonight, and you are going to go and sleep; you look like you're about to drop off right now. Then tomorrow we're going to go into Torchwood Medical and see how the little guy's doing. We're going to stay at home for the rest of the day, and I'm going to take off work to stay with you. Sound alright?" A watery smile graced her mouth, and she kissed his palm then leaned in to his embrace.

"How do you do that?" she asked him, her voice soft.

"Do what?"

She sniffed again. "Make everything better."

He kissed the top of her head. "Oh, just a natural talent, I s'pose," he replied, his heart lifting when he felt her smile against his chest. "Rose, you're allowed to be frightened," he murmured. "It's only natural, and it'd be silly if you weren't." His arms tightened protectively around her. "But you are not alone. Never ever; you're my wife, of course you're not. You know you can tell me how you feel, right?" She nodded silently, and he bent down to kiss her damp cheek. "Even if not me, then your mum, or Martha. Don't block it all up, please don't do that." She nodded again, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she managed, trying to hold back her tears, and he hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Rose Tyler, I really do," he told her earnestly.

"I love you, Doctor," she said back, hiccuping.

"We'll take each day as it comes, yeah?"

She nodded. "Together."


End file.
